Penitent Heart the Best New Year’s Gift
The sermon’s name is a Penitent Heart the Best New Year’s Gift. It is one out 18000 sermons written by George Whitefield. It was said Whitefield spoke with passion when he delivered these sermons. This sermon was recovered and written again in 1904. This sermon was one of most famous ones, as it talked about how people should have repented their mistakes for the better of themselves and was delivered on New Year’s. It discusses how people do not think about their actions that precede to sins. It also discusses how people can be easily carried away with lust and how people during his time have time to repent their mistakes but do not chose wisely. This sermon consists of more than thirty pages and the exact date it written was not determined, however it is certain that it was written sometime during the 1700s, as that was the time George Whitefield’s movement known as the Great Awakening was prominent. According to PBS, “newspaper ads announced his sermons; messengers rode ahead to spread the news of his coming appearances”, showing how much power these sermons had on Whitefield’s audience. He even traveled about 5000 miles across America to give these sermons. However, only around 90 of these sermons survived in any form. George Whitefield, along with John and Charles Wesley, founded the movement known as methodism. George Whitefield believed in the rebirth of Christianity, however his sermons consisted of evangelicalism, like this one. It consisted of passion and the essence of gospel. George Whitefield was famous for these sermons not because of the messages in the sermons, but rather how he delivered these sermons. This sermon was one of most famous ones, as it talked about how people should have repented their mistakes for the better of themselves and was delivered on New Year’s.